Global appliance giant BSH was able to achieve healthy turnover growth in 2024, saying it “successfully held its own in a challenging market environment”.
According to the appliance manufacturer – which owns the Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau and Neff brands – it pulled in turnover of €15.3bn (roughly £13.2bn) in the most recent financial year. This represents growth of 3% over the previous year, or 7.5% if adjusted for exchange rate effects.
BSH acknowledged that the past year had been tough for the entire domestic appliance market, mentioning “muted consumer demand in many markets” as well as “the continuing slump in real estate markets”.
However, it said that these latest figures prove that its growth strategy is working, especially when considered against the previous year’s noticeable decline in sales figures.
Looking at individual regions, in the US and Canada BSH increased its turnover by 3%, saying it had expanded its portfolio to include products tailored to this specific market. The company also gained an impressive 14% growth in a region it refers to as the “emerging markets”, which includes Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the African continent. In particular, it highlighted seeing especially strong growth in Turkey, the Middle East, Africa, and India.
However, in less fortunate news, BSH admitted it had seen a decline of 2% in Europe, although it still reported turnover growth in countries such as as the Netherlands, Austria, and the UK. In addition, the company saw a turnover decline of 4.5% in China, which it attributed to “negative exchange rate effects and the significant weakening of the Chinese economy and consumer climate”. Despite this, BSH says it still remains the biggest non-Chinese home appliance manufacturer in China by a wide margin.
Following its success in the North American market, BSH says it plans to open new Experience and Design centers in Washington D.C. and Beverly Hills, following the successful opening of its Miami and Houston locations in 2024.
BSH also said it had made “record investments” into the company over the last year, spending over €835m on research and development, with the company explaining that it put a special focus on energy efficiency and digital optimisation.
“We have a clear roadmap for the future to ensure our long-term success – with concrete goals, a resilient foundation, and a strong team,” explained Dr Matthias Metz, CEO of BSH.
“We inspire consumers with our leading brands and first-class products and contribute to the success of our retail partners. At the same time, we focus on our strengths to set ourselves further apart from our competitors and live up to our ambition to be a market shaper. And all the while we are steadily working to increase our competitiveness.”
